Green Maple Leaf
by WILDBLUE

Comment:
Lighting really brings this macro's lines into their own.

ice cream hut
by deceptive

Comment:
wonderful use of lines.

Round and Round
by Jacko

Comment:
This shot is cute as a bug's ear--or butt!

Round and Round
by Jacko

Comment:
This shot is cute as a bug!

Got Till It's Gone
by arnit

Comment:
Go Iceland! Great stop action! Congratulations!

Orange County, CA
by StevePax

Comment:
Hey Steve,

I grew up in Turtle Rock in Irvine and went to University High School. Where do you live in Orange County?

Orange County, CA
by StevePax

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I concur with all of the compliments below!

This is a wonderful photo of my home county growing up a young teenager in So. California. With your masterful lighting and magnificent composition and arrangement of objects, this image gives me a refreshing, light, jublilant feel. And I'm pretty sure that's what this photo is saying about Orange County: that it's a refreshing, light, jubliant place to be. So I think this makes a fantastic postcard; it sums up Orange County rather well, and you did it in a unique, original way, avoiding the normal landscape photo.

Everything about this photo is great. I really can't say much to improve it. Sorry! Some folks mentioned the blue border as being distracting, and perhaps a blue that matched the soft bright tones of the orange and green would have been better than the very bright blue you have here. I noted the font below, and I suppose it is true that Comic Sans is a bit overused these days, but these details have little to do with the image itself, which is really well done. You might try fiddling--only a teensy-weensy bit--with the contrast to make that lower orange section pop just a bit more, but if that touches your wonderful lighting or clean background, leave it alone!

This is possibly your best work to date, showing real skill. Everything came together for you with this one: light, focus, DOF, composition, arrangement of objects. It's all just superior. I'll have to get some tips from you about how to make such a clean, white background. My latest photos which attempted this always end up looking a little dirty.

Well, sorry I couldn't be of much help in terms of suggestions. It looks like to me that you did exactly what you intended. I imagine that some folks might have voted it lower because it wasn't a landscape--but that's why I liked it so much! Oh well.

I really look forward to seeing your future work!

David

Penn State Altoona
by OneSweetSin

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club!

I concur with all of the compliments below!

In this image, the light and textures of the water and trees lead my eye directly to the that interesting tower. The tower is seen in its environment, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the the environment contains a tower. As a post card shot, It succeeds because it shows us not only the tower itself, but also its surroundings, which are no less interesting and engaging. In fact, you suggest in this photo that the tower BELONGS there in this space. Through your capture of color, you show that it is just some kind of unusual tree or other landscape feature, enhancing, I'm sure, what the architect wanted! In other words: Great composition!

I really enjoy how you've used the water here as both a strong base for the photo as well as an interesting feature in and of itself. I love how the light gradually fades darker as it approaches the center of the photo, and then is light again in the sky above the trees. The "horizon line" is well placed, and the line created by the shore, once again, lead my eye right to that tower.

This is well done, and you should be pleased with the outcome.

As a postcard, some suggested that it was not really a postcard shape, and this could be true, but artists are constantly breaking the boundaries of what a postcard is these days. I've even seen triangular ones! Still, format is something to think about is this were, for example, for a client.

To improve the shot, you might try exploring a little with light. You obviously can't control the light here, but perhaps a different time of day with longer shadows and interesting sunlight would enhance the shot even more. It looks right now to be about an hour or two before sunset (or after sunrise). You might want to revisit this site and see what interesting light can be found just before sunset or just barely after sunrise.

Once again, great shot! I really look forward to seeing your future work! Good Luck!

David

Blending
by severin

Comment:
Tricky and effective. Effective use of "double exposure" technique. Tones match and are perfect together--no small feat I'm sure.

Stop! Moon Dead Ahead!
by Anachronite

Comment:
hah! Great catch. Clever idea. Super composition.